m500

Hate to said it but I sort of agree with you about Nissan's styling. The infiniti line is going at the right direction but Nissan design is getting weir and weirer. The trucks are okay and the 350z is good but the rest of the family its just @#$@%$@.

chelique

The TSX is sold as Accord anywhere else around the world.. and thus is not a premium car... And thus Acura is not a premium company, and they don't have premium dealerships.
They are trying to become premium, and their only moves yet are the TL and the RL..
anything ends with an X is not a premium vehicle, and the brands mentioned above are considered premium in the US (retardedly)..
TSX (and RSX) punctures a market segment right now and they are hurting the Acura image. Infiniti is run much better than any of the luxury extensions of Japanese manufacturers, and Toyota in my opinion will become a GM case in the future if they keep on making space filler cars that occupy every segment without being innovative of special.
IS series are terrible, and any human being with a little bit of common sense will not buy them, as long as the performance won't deceive you. IS250 is even a bigger mistake, just as the BMW 325 (for the US market) and soon we will see these cars abandoned. The BMW dealership that couldn't sell me a 325, confirmed that they will abandon the 325, come up with a 335 and move on that way, which is the right way.. As they could not sell me the 325 as it was their -car- to match the G35, and they know that it clearly cannot match it in value, looks, and performance.. only thing that can be claimed is better engineering/quality of assembly, and these cannot be proven right away.
Synopsis.. Infiniti is doing great, the others including all germans, are not.
Therefore TSX killer is not the next move, as the Maxima kills the TSX already in their matching segment. Infiniti should not sell a car below 30k, and they know it

jdm_inspire

You may have a valid point about Acura not having 'premium dealerships' but just because the TSX is marketed as a Honda doesn't mean it's not a premium car in its market segment. Up until recently, the g35 is marketed in Japan as a Nissan (Skyline). Does that mean the g35 is not a premium car? Secondly -- Honda's first "X" branded car was the NSX. Do you think the now-extinct NSX is not a premium car?

But you're right -- Honda/Acura has pigeon-holed itself to be a wannabe premium make. The only 2 'real' premium cars Acura has ever made were the original Legend and NSX. Everything else has been just 'value' near-luxo cars. Maybe they're due for a reality check but I doubt it. They have cast themselves as a car that are a little fun but very practical. It's a car you can afford to drive out of college but once you start making it big, you'd move on to Infiniti / Lexus / BMW / MB.

That's their entry point for brand loyalty. It's for the boy racer who wants to start with a lux car after they've grown tired of their Civic or Scion. And they can't afford a G35c.

Agreed except for a Maxima VS TSX? No way. Totally different cars. The Maxima is a full-sized car compared to a TSX. Maxima has a loyal following and the potential buyers of either car would not cross-shop.

Garnet Canuck

I really have to disagree on this one completely. IMO, Nissan's lineup is just more bold than the likes of Honda and Toyota. Overall, Honda and Toyota's lineup is too much on the boring side. Mind you I love the look of the new Civics.

Based on exterior looks alone, I'd MUCH rather have an Altima over an Accord or Camry any day of the week!!

dofu

iTrader: (2)

No G25 please... that would kinda defeat their purpose of upping the size and motor of the car from the G20 to the current G35. If you can't fork up the 35-40k to buy a new G, then buy a used one...

G35_808

i agree, all a "G25" would do is put more immature ricers behind the wheel of a car the looks exactly like mind. now on the other hand, i'd love to see a G56 (titan/Q56 engine). a G56 with intake, headers and full borla exhaust......that thing would sound crazy and be a major tire spinner. imagine that 5.6L supercharged, with bolt-ons that would be close to 500whp on LOW boost

chelique

The NSX is not a premium car,, it is an exotic sports car that was extremely overpriced. therefore sold as an acura.. Otherwise from a luxury standpoint it is not a premium.. Just like the old GTR... you can't sell that car as an infiniti right now and if you've seen the interior, you will understand..
And TSX is very similar to the maxima in terms of their segment.. And yes the TSX is an accord, there is no denying that.. It's not a brand badge change.. It just cannot replace the americanized accord that is only produced here, thats why it comes as an acura..
G35 is a nissan 350gt in japan which is a premium car in japan.
TSX is an accord anywhere else, and is not a premium car anywhere else.
new IS series are more expensive than the g35c, even the IS250 is more expensive when you get more options. So if you get an IS instead of a g35, it means that
a- you are retarded
b- you were on crack, and stayed on crack
c- you like ugly cars, your previous car was a scion p.o.s
d- you heard that it gets to 60mph faster than any other car in its segment

I don't see ANY IS's in Atlanta (1 in a month yet), and see at least 1 g35 per ped xing when I walk to work.. which makes me feel better about the place I live.

I agree that the maxima is a larger car than the TSX but thats the smallest car Nissan offers, with similar equipment and pricing.. I will probably get the TSX, cos i'm kinda biased.. But it is not a premium car. it is as plastic as it can get...

BlackStevo8

i dont get it? why should infiniti make a car so people who want to spoend 24k can own one? The G20 is the bastard step child of infiniti. If you cant afford an infiniti theres a car for you, Its called a NISSAN. Mercedes did something stupid like this when they made that stupid little hatchback mercedes c class. Jaguar did it with the X type. Now everyone can have a jaguar. for 28k you can have a baby S-type Jag. Its disgusting.

thast like bentley coming out with a car thats 45k. People with 200k bentleys would never be as exclusive. Basically if infinti ever made a cheap car like you say, i'd sell my 40k 2006 g35 coupe and buy something else.

MikeyMike

^
Well Said.

mistermojorizin

i'd like to see the g25 TT . but seriously, you guys shouldn't talk smack about the g20. compared to the g20, the g35 is a boat. they actually used to use the g20 as a platform for racing. if infiniti made a modern car that had less hp but also weighed significantly less, keeping the level of trim and luxury, which by the way is no where close to mercedes or lexus, the same, it would be very appealing.

RBull

iTrader: (1)

I agree that Infiniti should not make the mistake of several other manufacturers and go downmarket below the G35. The brand exclusivity is an important part of why I bought the car and is likely important to most buyers. Nissan has numerous vehicles aimed at more cost conscious buyers.

chelique

These arguments are also only applicable and valid for the US market.. Rest of the world does not have a brand=premium view.. its more like model=premium..
So mercedes, bmw, volvo and companies of that level produce all kinds of cars and compete in a very wide price range.. It's not like the US where a bmw starts from 35k solid. You can get a BMW for 25k, maybe less.. But BMW won't bring those cars to the US.
Just like you cannot buy a mercedes with cloth interior and manual trans. here..
any company that understands this warped view of american about cars will respond to this with an appropriate marketing strategy.. which includes creating a separate brand name that is 'premium'..
What actually happens is kinda funny.. We are driving cars designed by Nissan (with a lot of Renault influence), manufactured in Nissan plants, but sold by nicely dressed people that badge this car as an 'Infiniti' and sell it behind nicer stores labeled 'Infiniti', so that we pay more money and get better treatment.
Anything below 30k right now in the US is probably considered not worth of such treatment

xswl0931

I liked the previous G20, but the G35 IS going racing (ok, so it's not exactly the same car):

Infiniti joins Grand-Am
Infiniti will join the Grand-Am fold at round three in Home-stead, Florida, in March. A new operation known as Team HLM, based in Ohio, will run a pair of works-blessed G35 tube-frame racers. The car’s V8 engine, developed in conjunction with Menard’s, could then find its way into an Infiniti Daytona Prototype later in the year. Drivers for the G35 program include sports car convert Bryan Sellers, who raced for the works Panoz American Le Mans Series team last year, and Britons Johnny Mowlem and Ian James.

mistermojorizin

quote: "but the G35 IS going racing"

interesting. i would have thought they would use a 350z as the racing platform since its essentially the same car but more performance oriented. but i still think that a lighter g with a turbo'd 4 banger would kick a$$. each of your performance mods would be amplified by the light weight and the turbo. We wouldn't be spending 200 bucks on intake to get 5 hp.

danl

Removing the VQ and putting in the 2.5 would result in a car that weighs almost the same (maybe 100 lbs less) but loses about 70 hp. This would result in a very similar pwr/wt ratio to the TSX. Make no mistake, the TSX is every bit as 'underpowered' as the G20. Imo, the best things about the G20 was the _low_ curb wt. (can be under 3k for 1st gen) and the suspension which when combined made it a fun car to drive. The current G chassis is just way, way to big to create an enjoyable driver's car with only 215 hp. In fact my biggest beef with my G35 is that it weighs about 2-300 lbs more than I wished it did. This is why it is a ton more fun when the tank is almost empty. Imo, A G25 just would not be very fun unless they could drop 500+lbs.